WaMu Under Federal Inquiry, Says Report

In Washington State, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports:

• The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into Washington Mutual Inc.'s mortgage lending practices, deepening a controversy over whether the Seattle-based company pressured appraisers to come up with inflated values to justify making home loans. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported late Thursday that the SEC wants to know whether "the company properly accounted for its loans in financial disclosures to investors of the company." Washington Mutual confirmed the inquiry in a statement issued Thursday.

For more, see SEC starts inquiry of WaMu (Federal panel to study mortgage lending practices).

For The Wall Street Journal story, see SEC Probes WaMu on Appraisals (Regulator Checks Handling Of Loans Possibly Based On Inflated Valuations). (may require subscription, if no subscription, go here - then click link for story).

For a related post on the alleged pressuring of appraisers by WaMu, see First American Issued Phony Appraisals, Charges NY AG; Execs Knew It & Allowed It Anyway, Says Suit.